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! The Gotti on the Um 



BY 



BERTHA BRIDGES 



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i Pfess of the I^obeitt Claitke Company 

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THE cow ON THE FARM 



BY 

Bertha Bridges 






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67 




CINCINNATI 
The Robert Clarke Company Press 



•fiCOND COPY. 



Copyright, 1897, 
By Bertha Bridges. 



r 



PREFACE. 



This little book has been written by 
a woman of nearly twenty years of actual 
experience in the business of making 
butter. It is intended for the women on 
the farm who may have a desire to per- 
fect themselves in the art of making and 
preserving butter. The writer has taken 
great pains to give the best information. 
If our cows are properly taken care of 
and the butter is made without violating 
certain laws, our butter will be as perfect 
in November as it is in May, and there 
is no reason why any one can not make 
good, palatable butter the year round. 
The writer hopes that those looking for 
information may find in this little book 

an ever-present help. 

The Author. 

(3) 



THE COW ON THE FARM. 



Feed and Care of the Cow. 

Many farmers who in nearly all of 
their farm duties are neat and careful, 
are careless in the management of their 
cows. They do not consider what a dif- 
ference it would make if their cows were 
properly cared for. Instead of being 
housed and fed in a clean stable, they 
live in the barnyard or strawstack. 
Their coats are filthy, every rib can be 
counted, and a man can hang his hat on 
their hip bones. And these poor, neg- 
lected creatures are expected to give 
good, wholesome milk ! Is it a wonder 
that some butter is not worth ten cents a 
pound? 

This, however, is not the state of af- 
fairs every-where, and I am glad to say 

(5) 



6 The Cow on the Farm. 

it is the exception and not the rule. 
Most farmers have long since come to 
find out that our farms without good, 
Avell-kept cows, and a flock of equallj 
well-kept hens, would hardly be farms 
or homes either. In summer, it is, of 
course, unnecessary to stable cows, as 
they do much better in the pasture or 
lot at night. But as soon as the weather 
gets stormy, they should be housed in a 
warm, clean place, being turned out, 
however, every day, even during cold 
and snowy weather, as they need exer- 
cise to keep them well and thriving. 
Feeding also should be judiciously done. 
Eotten corn and moldy fodder will not 
furnish good milk and make good-fla- 
vored butter. In winter, when there is 
no pasture, it is a good plan to feed 
some mill feed, such as bran or what is 
called shipp-stuft". Yellow corn, ground 
cob and all, also makes good winter feed. 
Good, clean clover hay is very good to 
give the butter a fine color, so much de- 



The Cow on the Farm. 7 

sired in winter. One very cold winter I 
fed yellow corn and sugar beets with 
good fodder for forage. My cows were 
fat and sleek and turned off a wonderful 
amount of butter of good color and deli- 
cious flavor. 

In summer, when pastures are very 
short and the cows eat ragweed and 
also horse weed, the butter will get very 
soft and oily, and there seems to be no 
grain in it. AVhcn this is the case, it is 
a good plan to feed a little green corn, 
stalks, blades, corn, and all. Where one 
has sugar corn, the suckers which are 
usually pulled and left in the field will 
do. The farmer who saves these and 
feeds them to his cows may consider the 
time that it takes to do so well spent. 
This feeding will not only improve the 
flow of the milk and quality of the but- 
ter just at a time when there is a great 
demand for the latter, but it will also 
keep the cows quiet, and will often pre- 
vent their becoming troublesome where 



8 The Cow on the Farm. 

fences are poor. Cows should always 
have plenty of good, pure water, and 
have salt once or twice a week. When 
the cows do not have salt enough the 
butter will be hard to churn. 

In the summer, when the cows are 
running in a large pasture, it is well to 
give them a bit of something to eat at 
night, so as to make them come home at 
milking time. There are many things 
about a farm that will answer this pur- 
pose. A few handfuls of bran, in the 
spring, a little green clover, a few nub- 
bins of suo^ar corn with the husks from 
the corn used for the dinner table, or a 
few dropped or specked apples, will make 
a cow come half a mile, if they are sea- 
soned with a few kind words and a little 
petting. And this labor-saving plan will 
pay w^ell on any farm. 

At times Avhen they are housed they 
should also be fed at milking time, as 
this puts them in a good humor and 
makes them give their milk down. The 



The Cow on the Farm. 9 

droppings should be removed before 
milking, and the milking should be done 
in an even, steady manner. The milk 
should froth and foam in the bucket. 
Also, the cows should always be milked 
at the same time of day, and not at live 
o'clock to-day and seven o'clock to-mor- 
row. I do not mean by this that we 
should milk our cows at the same hour 
the year round; but the change must be 
so gradual that it, will not injure the 
cows. Every drop of milk should be 
taken, for when this is not done the 
cow will go dry before it is time for her 
to do so. The regular time for a cow to 
go dry is six weeks. Sometimes it is 
necessary to milk the cow a few days 
before she has her calf. Cows should 
always be noticed at this time ; and if 
the udder appears inflamed, they should 
be attended to, as neglect may give 
trouble after they are fresh. Should 
the udder be caked and inflamed after 
they are fresh, hog's lard, heated as 



10 The Cow on the Farm, 

hot as one's hand will bear, is good to 
bathe with ; also to bathe with the milk 
which is milked from the cow is good to 
soften the udder and to remove inflam- 
mation. In all cases, however, the pre- 
ventative is better than the cure, and a 
little care taken at the proper time will 
often save much trouble. 

Cows Should JS'ever be Forced. 
By this we mean that they should not 
have more than regular rations. Many 
people think that by giving their cows 
extra feed before coming fresh that they 
will do better afterward. This treatment 
is unnatural and will often end in the 
loss of a good cow. A cow at the time 
of coming fresh should have good, warm, 
soft food. This is made by taking say 
a wooden bucket half full of mill feed ; 
any kind of good mill feed will do. 
Give with this /or the first feed a common 
sized fire shovel nearly full of good wood 
ashes and a small handful of salt, and 



The Cow on the Farm. 11 

iil] the bucket with warm water. This 
will, if the cow is health}^ be all that is 
required to accomplish whethering. For 
the next few feeds it is well to add a 
handful or two of oil meal. The cow 
should be fed moderately for a few days, 
and should have warm drinks only. In 
very cold weather it is at all times best 
to warm the water for the cows to 
drink. 

Raising the Calf. 
Raising a young calf is often a difficult 
task, and unless they are attended to 
very carefully will not do well and often 
get sick and die. The milk fed to a calf 
should never be more than milk warm 
(blood heat) ; next it should always be 
2:)erfectly sweet. If the milk fed to a calf 
is too warm there is danger of killing 
them almost instantly, and if it is in the 
least off or sour it will give them dysen- 
tery ; in the latter case they can usually 
be saved, so long as they will eat, by 



12 The Cow on the Farm. 

giving them a mess or two of boiled 
milk. After boiling the milk let it cool 
until it is milk warm and give them 
about half rations for a few feeds, and as 
soon as they are well give them the same 
quantity as before, increasing however 
gradually. For the first week or ten 
days the calf should have fresh milk 
warm from the cow. After this skim- 
med milk will do. Where the milk is 
needed for the family, a little gruel can 
be added after the calf is six or eight 
weeks old. In giving gruel, begin with 
a very little at first; use for the first feed 
a small handful of meal and boil this 
well. If it takes this and there are no 
bad effects, then give this for a few feeds, 
and if it continues well increase the por- 
tions gradually until you can give it half 
gruel and half milk. This drink should 
be given until the calf is at least four 
months old. After this the gruel with- 
out the milk will do. 

When depending on our own resources. 



The Cow on the Farm. 13 

the proper way to feed a calf is to take 
a vessel part full of the warm sweet milk, 
put the palm of your hand to the calf's 
nose and into the milk, slipping your 
finger under its upper lip, and if the calf 
has not been sucking the cow it will 
learn to eat very quickly, and will after 
being fed a few times take the milk with- 
out any trouble. A calf should have its 
food regularly, and it should, if this is 
possible, be prepared by one person only ; 
by doing this there is less danger of over- 
feeding or of giving it something it ought 
not to have. The little fellows are apt 
to eat very fast sometimes and must be 
held back, as it is not good for them to 
drink the milk too fast. The right per- 
son may raise a number of calves suc- 
cessfully, and yet, if they should be com- 
pelled for any reason to give the care of 
one up to some one else, for a single feed, 
may lose it. They must have good, nat- 
ural, common sense treatment, and when 
getting this will usually thrive and live. 



14 The Cow on the Fcmn. 

The Stable and Barn. 
A bank stable is very practicable for 
cows where one can have it, and a dirt 
floor is best if the stable is well drained. 
A stable built with the north and west 
side a good stone wall will be very warm 
in winter. Each cow should have about 
five feet in the width and at least ten in 
the length of her stall, besides manger 
and feed box. Where this can be done, 
it is well to have one door of the stable 
open into the pasture, as this saves much 
trouble in handling the cows as then 
they need only be untied and can go 
direct into the pasture. And when put 
up the door only need to be opened for 
them to walk to their places-. I have 
my stable arranged in this way and find 
that it is very convenient, and nearly as 
warm as a cellar. For this stable, see 
Plan ^o. 1. It is built 18 x 20 feet, and 
is one and one-half story. Where there 
is no other barn, however, to store feed 



The Cow on the I 



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16 The Cow on the Farm. 

for forage, the upper story can be built 
higher. 

Where a larger barn is wanted, Plan 
No. 2 will be suitable for eight cows. 
This barn is 20 x 30 feet, and is three 
stories. The first floor is for the cows; 
the second is made with bins to store 
grain, mill-feed, beets, or other tubers in- 
tended for feeding. This floor is to come 
out level with the ground at the back, so 
one can drive in. The third floor is to 
be used for hay, and is connected by a 
chute to the first floor to drop the hay 
down ; this chute to come out at the end 
of the passage between the cows. The 
cows can be fastened with stanchions, 
but do not need partitions between them. 

Be Klnd to the Cow. 
While we should be kind to all animals 
it is most necessary in the treatment of 
our milch-cows. Let them know that 
you are master once for all. Never 
tolerate any misdemeanor. A cow must 



The Cow on the Far 



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18 Tke Cow oil the Farm. 

know that she dare not raise her foot to 
kick the bucket over, or to strike at the 
one that is milking. They must he taught 
respect^ but they can also be taught to 
love us in their own brute w^ay. A cow 
with a kind aud gentle disposition will 
always give more and better milk than 
the one who is continually on the war 
path and is forever wanting to do some- 
thing mean. So if they are unruly 
conquer them, but be kind to them 
afterward. They will then first learn to 
respect you, and as soon as they know 
that there is nothing to fear will learn 
to love you as well as a faithful dog. 
Remember that any thing worth doing 
at all is worth doing right. So let us 
persevere, and after a while if w^e try 
and work hard enough we will get to 
the top of the ladder. We must not, 
however, go ahead as one blindfolded, 
but work and watch our path as we are 
going onward, so we may keep on the right 



The Cow on the Farm. 19 

tracks and this not just in one branch of 
our work but in every thing. 

Milk and Butter. 
Now that the cow has been properly 
cared for w^e will expect her to give good 
milk, and then we can be expected to 
make good butter. Good Butter. How^ 
much do these two simple words signify 
to the farmer's wife. And how much 
more do they imply to the thousands 
consuming strong butter or tasteless oleo. 
Now, making good butter is not an easy 
task, though the feeding and care of 
cows were all done right. In butter 
making, as well as in every thing else, 
we should make ourselves acquainted 
with the best methods, so as to get the 
best returns for our labor. 

Cleanliness is the First Condition Es- 
sential TO Success. 
The place w^here the milk is kept 
should be neat and clean and the air 



20 The Cow 07i the Farm. 

pure. If a cellar, it should be white 
washed every spring and kept perfectly 
clean. Such things as barrels of vinegar 
and vegetables have no place in a cellar 
where milk is kept. A vessel with air- 
slaked lime and a bucket of pine-tar (the 
latter should be stirred once a day) will 
help to keep the air pure and sweet. 
We all know that milk takes up any 
impurity out of the air very quickly. 
Any one that cares to take notice has 
observed that if we keep milk in our 
kitchens in winter and then cook vege- 
tables, such as turnips, cabbage or onions, 
indeed, any thing which smells strong 
while cooking, this will make the milk 
taste, and if repeated often the butter 
will be strong. Indeed, if we would 
have our butter to be first class every 
thing about it should be so. 

The cupboards, tables, and benches 
should be clear of mold and should be 
scrubbed white and clean. Any milk 
that is spilled should be wiped up ini- 



The Cow on the Farm. 21 

mediately. ISText to this all milk ves- 
sels should be used for milk only, and 
should be washed by themselves in clean 
very hot water, and without the use of soap. 
After being washed clean and wiped dry, 
all stone ware used for milk should be 
heated quite hot. One can turn them on 
the stove, or set them in the oven, and 
when one lot gets hot take them away 
and heat another. In summer when we 
do not have much fire, pile the pans up 
in the kitchen and heat them whenever 
there happens to be a fire in the stove. 
This heating of the milk vessels is indis- 
pensable where the butter is intended 
for packing. But should be done at all 
times. In winter as well as in summer. 
It is a bad practice to put stone pans in 
the sun to sweeten, for no matter how 
hot the sun may be, it is not hot enough 
to destroy the milk which may be left in 
the pores of the pans. It sours and 
rots it, and the pans are only worse 
than before. On the other hand, heat- 



22 The Cow on the Farm. 

ing by the fire burns up whatever milk 
may be left in the pores of the pans, and 
they become sweet, and then putting 
them in the sun will not hurt them. 
Where the pans have been in the sun all 
day, it is a good idea to fill them with 
cold water for fifteen or twenty min- 
utes before straining the milk into 
them. The milk should be strained and 
put away as soon as brought in, as 
much of the cream is lost by letting it 
set in the buckets. Never cover the 
milk while the cream is raising if you 
can help it. But if for any reason it 
becomes necessary then avoid mold on 
the covers. And when scrubbing, never 
use soap. Use very clean hot water and 
let them get perfectly dry before using 
again. Stone pans are better to strain 
in than tin for this reason : The milk 
will eat the tin, and while there may be 
only a small quantity in each lot, yet in 
the course of time this will be injurious 
to health. The stone pans may be more 



The Cow on the Farm., 23 

difficult to handle, still I think them 
preferable. 

When and How to Skim the Milk. 
In skimming milk, run your finger 
around the pan, so as to loosen the 
cream, and with a tin ladle lift it off. 
Some one once said while watching me 
at skimming : ^' How close you are ; you 
want every bit of cream." And they 
were right in one point, for I do want 
every bit of cream, and every one mak- 
ing butter should do the same, for the 
cream left on the milk or side of pan 
would only be wasted, and that would 
be against the principles of econom3^ 

Alwaj^s aim to have the cream off be- 
fore the milk is thick. It may be sour, 
and I think I can make fully a third 
more butter when the milk can set 
quietly until it is first turning sour, and 
then skim. Instead of taking the cream 
while the milk is still sweet. In sum- 
mer usually skim thirty-six hours after 



24 The Cow on the Farm. 

milking, unless, as sometimes is the case, 
the weather is very sultry, and then the 
milk will sour in twenty-four hours. 

Never under any circumstances^ ivinter 
or summer, should milk set longer than 
forty-eight hours before being skimmed. 
(I wish I could sufficiently impress this 
on the mind of every one trying to make 
good butter. For I firmly believe that 
nine out of every ten pounds of bad or 
indifferent butter is so from this cause.) 

Some of our best housekeepers who 
are among the first in all the other 
branches of housekeeping have cheesy 
butter in w^inter. Their bread is the 
finest; their cakes and pies are the most 
delicious. Their linen is the whitest, 
and, indeed, every thing about the house 
is in harmony. They do, indeed. 

Guide the house with prudent care, 
With judgment wise to spend and spare, 
And make their husbands bless the day 
They gave their liberty away. 



The Cow on the Farm. 25 

With these women it is neither care- 
lessness nor neglect that makes their but- 
ter bad. Many times the food is blamed, 
and I have often heard the remark made 
that some sort of winter food would 
make the butter strong. Now I do not 
deny that there is food that does make 
the butter bad. But in many cases 
where the food is blamed, the butter is 
bad from a difterent cause altogether. 
Let every woman that wishes to know 
try for herself; it is very easily done. 
For one week skim the milk at forty- 
eight hours after milking, and the 
next week let it set any length of time 
that may suit, but let it set longer than 
forty-eight hours and I will tell her right 
now that she will find that her butter 
will be cheesy and strong just in propor- 
tion to the length of time that the 
milk has been setting. Often a little 
thin scum of cream will raise on the milk 
after it has been skimmed, and this will 
make many people think that they are 



26 The Cow on the Farm, 

losing by skimming the milk too soon. 
If those afraid of this will give it a trial, 
they will find that by skimming their 
milk at forty-eight hours they will 
have just as much if not more butter 
than they would have if they would let 
it set longer, so they will find that they 
will lose nothing in w^eight and will gain 
double in quality. The cream raises 
best in a moderately warm place, say a 
temperature of not less than 50° nor more 
than 60°. Should the milk, however, be 
still sweet after setting the proper length 
of time, it must nevertheless be skimmed, 
as letting it set longer will 7nake the butter 
strong. 

Bitter Butter in Winter. 
Many people complain of having bitter 
butter in winter. Where this is the 
case, it is nearly always caused by letting 
the milk set too long before skimming 
or by not souring the cream after it is 
skimmed. I have found it best to sour 



The Cow on the Farm. 27 

the cream as soon as I begin saving. 
Say the first day I take the cream jar 
and set it by the stove. Keep turning 
until the cream is well warmed through. 
Then keep it so for a few hours and next 
morning the cream w^ll be sour. JN'ow 
keep on skimming into this and the rest 
will sour without any trouble. The 
cream should be stirred every time new 
cream is put into the jar. I will also say 
here that cream properly ripened will 
turn oiF nearly a third more and better 
flavored butter than it wall when it is 
churned sweet. I never let milk freeze 
if I can help it, as it makes skimming a 
tedious task. I^ow there is one more 
difiiculty which I will mention here. In 
summer during excessive heat the milk 
will sometimes for weeks have whey on 
the top almost as soon as it turns sour. 
Many people think that this is caused 
by the cows eating ragweed and horse- 
weed. But I have found it to be the 
case when the cows were on good blue 



28 The Cow on the Farm. 

grass and when there was not the least 
taint of ragweed in the milk. The only 
thing that I have found to help here is 
to take the milk as soon as strained and 
set it on the stove in the pans that it is 
to be left in. Leave on the fire long 
enough for the scum to raise. Keep at 
this heat for half an hour or so, but do 
not let it boil. This heating will keep the 
milk sweet longer than it would keep bj 
boiling it. The cream will raise nicely; 
the butter will be firm and grainy and 
will where there is trouble in churning 
come sooner. Often, when the cows are 
nearly dry, there will be trouble in gath- 
ering the butter. Where this is the case, 
if the heating of the milk does not help, 
a little salt added to the cream each time 
new cream is put in the jar, or if this 
has not been done, putting the salt in the 
churn will often gather the butter very 
quickly. 



The Cow on the Fcmn. 29 

The Churn and Churning. 
Xow the next thing is the churn and 
churning. As for the churn, I can say 
very little in favor of patent churns, as 
far as my experience goes, and am still 
old fashioned enough to like the " Old 
Dash" churn hest, and can say much in 
its favor. In the first place it is cheap 
and very durable; next, it is easily kept 
clean ; and if the cream is good and has 
the right temperature, we can churn our 
butter in twenty minutes. The butter is 
easily taken out, and when all is done 
as it ought to be, there is not a bit of 
waste about it. 

Churning in Winter. 
In winter the churn should always be 
scalded as well before as after churning. 
In the summer do the same, but scald 
your churn in the evening before you in- 
tend churning the next morning. The 
tray and butter ladle should be well 



30 The Cow on the Farm. 

soaked before taking the butter up, as 
this makes them cool and keeps the but- 
ter from sticking. The churn should be 
cleansed as soon as the butter is salted 
and set away for the salt to melt. Never 
let the buttermilk set in the churn. To 
begin churning : After you have scalded 
the churn, wet well with the water and 
empty. Then let it set a few moments 
to cool, and as soon as it is done steam- 
ing, it is ready for the cream. The cream 
should be heated from 62° to 64°. With 
a little practice a person can soon tell 
just how warm it ought to be. After 
the cream is in the churn hold the ther- 
mometer in a few moments. If it is not 
warm enough, add boiling water enough 
to make it so, and if too warm, add cold 
water. Adding the boiling water before 
beginning to churn will never scald your 
butter so long as yoa only have the cream 
at 64° when you begin to churn. It is 
only by adding hot water after the churn- 



The Cow on the Farm. 31 

ing is part done that it will scald the 
butter. 

Butter Should Never be Mushy. 

Summer before last I had an experi- 
ence with mushy butter which I will give 
here as an example. One very hot day 
one of my neighbors came to me, say- 
ing : " Oh, Mrs. B., can you come down 
to my wife a little bit. She is churning 
and she can do nothing with her butter." 
They were young housekeepers. I went 
down. It was near noon, and here was 
the woman in the cellar. She had a tub 
half full of water and milk, and a churn 
full of the same mixture with three or 
four pounds of butter that looked like 
pancake batter floating on it. " Oh," 
she said, " I can 't get the milk out of 
this stuff. I think it must be our cow 
that is not good, and I can 't make but- 
ter out of her cream. I have been try- 
ing and trying, and it is always as you 
see it here." I told her I thought if she 



32 The Cow on the Farm. 

would churn early iu the morning and 
out of doors, in place of in the cellar, she 
would find a difterence. I asked her to 
give me her tray and butter ladle, and I 
would see what I could do for her. She 
got them. They were wet, but as soon 
as I touched the butter it all stuck fast. 
I cleaned off the butter and asked her to 
give me some coarse salt. I then rubbed 
ladle and tray well with the salt, and 
after rinsing well took up the butter. 
The mess was so sloppy nothing could be 
done with it but to salt it, or, rather, to 
stir the salt into it. I then put it in a 
crock and told her to let it set in the 
cellar on the ground, well covered, until 
morning, when it might be ready to 
work. And, indeed, after turning out 
and working next morning, the butter 
looked respectable. False pride had kept 
this woman from telling her trouble, un- 
til, at last, she found she could not help 
herself, and then she came to me. I 
afterward gave her some good practical 



The Cow on the Farm. 33 

advice, and she had no more trouble 
with her cow. 

Churning in Summer. 
I think it far easier for those of little 
experience to make good butter in win- 
ter than in summer. But those who 
know their business can make good, 
solid butter even in the hot days of July 
and August, and do so without the use 
of ice. And let me say here that solid 
butter made without ice will stand the 
heat much better than butter made 
where ice has been used. As soon as 
warm weather comes, the churning 
should always be done very early in the 
morning, in a place that is cool and 
shady, but free from a breeze and flies. 
Three times a week is often enough in 
summer during hot weather, and as soon 
as it gets a little cooler twice will do. 
As I have said before, do not neglect to 
scald your churn. Do this in the even- 
ing before you intend churning next 



34 The Cow on the Farm. 

morning. After being scalded, empty 
and let cool. Then set a bucket of cold 
water in it over night. In order not to 
have an extra fire, it is well to do this 
while getting supper. 

When your churning is done and the 
butter which may be on the side and lid 
washed dc^wn carefully, take your tray 
and ladle (which should have been well 
soaked) and take your butter out. Then 
drain the milk off carefully, spread your 
butter in the tray, and it is ready for 
salting. 

Salting and Working Butter. 
For every six pounds of butter, a tea- 
cup oi fine table salt and half a teacup of 
granulated sugar. This method of salt- 
ing will be new to nearly every one, yet 
I feel confident that if they once try it 
they will never give it up. I have been 
using sugar in my butter for a number 
of years, but only within the last two 
years have I used it just in this propor- 



The Cow on the Farm. 35 

tion. I find that it makes the butter 
much more solid, and when it has been 
made just as it ought to be made, it will 
keep perfect from April until Christmas 
and no telling how much longer. 

After the butter has been salted and 
the salt and sugar simply worked through 
enough to mix it well, take the tray and 
set it away long enough for the salt to 
melt. In warm weather and when the 
butter is soft, let it set in a cool place 
until it begins to get firm and grainy, 
and then w^ork. In working butter, it 
should be pressed only. If the ladle is 
rubbed over the mass instead of pressing 
it, it breaks the grain and makes the 
butter look oily. To those who have 
never seen butter worked I will say: 
Take your butter and with the ladle 
roll it over to one side of the tray; then 
with the ladle cut off a piece and put on 
the opposite side, pressing it down solid; 
now take one piece after the other and 
press in the same manner, until you have 



36 The Cow on the Farm. 

it all over ; drain off what milk you 
have worked out; turn your butter back 
and work as before; repeat until the 
liquid pressed out looks clear, when your 
butter is done. Never wash butter. 
While there is still much that could be 
said about batter making, I think I have 
said enough to make things plain. I 
have tried at least to explain the four 
fundamental jprinciples — the first, cleanli- 
ness; the second, to skim the milk at 
the proper time and in the right man- 
ner; the third, to do your churning 
right; and the fourth, to work the but- 
ter properly. There is no way of get- 
ting around either of these principles. 
We can not be dilatory or neglectful 
and meet with success. 

Experience Makes Wise. 

In the spring of 1895, when butter 

took such a drop in the market, I was 

making at the rate of one hundred 

pounds a month from three cows. I 



The Cow on the Farm. 37 

had between fifty and sixty pounds of it 
engaged to regular customers and the 
rest I let my storekeeper have. He had 
been handling my butter for years and 
had always given me twenty-five cents 
a pound without any trouble. This 
year he dropped five cents on the price 
about the middle of April, and it was for 
this reason I had gotten private custom 
for part of it. About two weeks later 
he dropped to eighteen cents a pound. 
This circumstance made me first consider 
the idea of packing butter. 

For years I had been using sugar in 
my butter, and every body using it 
wondered why it was that my butter 
never got strong. Many times people 
have asked me why it was that my but- 
ter never got strong. They would some- 
times get enough to last them for several 
weeks and yet the last of it would be as 
good as the first had been. So by 
experience I knew that I might succeed 
in keeping the butter for a number of 



38 The Cow on the Farm. 

weeks without losing it, but I did not 
know how it would be about keeping it 
for months right through the heat of the 
summer. While in this predicament I 
got to thinking one day. That when I 
put up pork I always used half as much 
sugar as I did salt and why should not 
the same plan work with butter. T will 
try it, I thought, and try it I did, and 
with the best of success. 

What Makes Butter Strong. 
There are a thousand and one things 
that wnll make butter strong, but I have 
embraced them all in the simple rules 
explained in these pages. Any one fol- 
fowing them will surely succeed. It has 
beeu said that only one woman in twenty 
was naturally a butter maker, neverthe- 
less, it is supposed that the other nine- 
teen are intelligent enough to learn how 
to make good butter. I think I have suffi- 
ciently explained about feed, cleanliness, 
etc. All I have said about them must be 



The Colo on the Farm. 39 

followed if you would have your butter 
good. And if it is not strictly first class 
when put up you will not find it so 
after being packed for six months. Once 
more I would say to those intending 
to pack their butter, observe what I have 
said about heating your milk pans. 
The cream jar and butter crocks should 
also be heated. I heat my cream jar by 
setting on the stove-hearth, keep turn- 
ing until it has been heated all round. 
All butter crocks that have grease fry 
out of them should be well cleansed 
again. The fire in this instance, as in 
many others, proves to be the "All 
Purifing Element," — hot water will not 
do, as it will not penetrate the pores of 
the earthenware, and the particles of oil 
and milk will still be there, though we 
may scald them a dozen times. 

Remember as the leaven that leaveneth the 
xohole measure^ so the rancid oil or particle 
of rotten milk will spoil a whole jar of 
butter. 



40 The Cow on the Farm. 

Feed has much to do with tne taste 
and flavor of butter. It may make but- 
ter strong. Indeed, I need not tell 
those whose cows have ever gotten into 
an old cabbage field and have eaten 
frozen or rotten cabbage, or those whose 
cows delight in a good mess of garlic, 
how disagreeable milk and butter can 
be. Indeed, real garlic butter can run 
any one out of the house. 

{Note. Let me say to those troubled 
with garlic butter, if you will take this 
butter, set on the stove, and let it cook 
slowly until it is clear, when cold the 
flavor of garlic will have left, and it 
can then be used for cooking and 
baking.) 

While this butter is strong the cows 
make it so, and all that the bntter maker 
can do will not make it fit for the table. 
But where the milk is good, the butter 
should also be good. 

The best time for packing butter is 
during the months of May and June. 



The Cow on the Farm. 41 

At this time of the year the nights are 
still cool, and the young grass gives the 
butter a delicious flavor which makes it 
really finer than the butter made at any 
other time of the year. There is one 
great advantage connected with packing 
our butter. We can in this w^ay keep 
the surplus made during these two 
months until later on when butter is 
less plentiful and sometimes is indeed 
very scarce. At this time we can put 
our packed butter onto the market and 
get not only good prices but much 
credit for it. 

Packing Butter. 
Xow if your butter is just what it 
ought to be when taken out of the churn, 
you must work it properly, using fine 
table salt and granulated sugar as I have 
said before in the article on salting but- 
ter. A teacup of salt and half as much 
sugar for every six pounds of butter. If 
the weather is very warm and the butter 



42 The Cow on the Far: 



m.. 



is at all soft when you work it, it may be 
necessary to give it a second working in 
order to get the milk all out. To do 
this: Take your butter and put in a 
crock, set on the ground in the cellar or 
milk house and cover with a plate or 
inverted crock ; let it set for twenty-four 
hours. It will then under ordinary cir- 
cumstances be firm. Now turn all back 
into your butter tray and you will find 
that you can get the milk out. Do this 
early in the morning while the air is still 
cool. Should the weather be stormy 
and sultry, it will not hurt the butter to 
set for two or even three days without 
this second working. After working all 
the milk out, you can either pack in 
small crocks or bulk it in jars, which- 
ever suits best. Fill your crocks within 
an inch and a half from the top, and then 
fill this space up with a brine made 
strong enough to bear an Qgg, using the 
same proportions of sugar and salt as in 
salting the butter. 



The Cow on the Farm. 43 

This brine should be boiled and 
skimmed, then set away to cool before 
using. When you pack in jars, empty 
the brine each time you are going to put 
more in the jar. Press your butter very 
evenly so there may be no raised places, 
and when you have it all level put the 
brine back on. Now one thing more. 
These crocks and jars must not be 
covered so as to exclude the air. Take 
a piece of coarse cloth and tie them up 
so as to keep insects and dust out. 

I packed about 150 pounds in three 
months, beginning to pack the first of 
May. The summer of 1895 proved to 
be so very dry and pastures were so short 
that butter was as scarce in August as it 
was plentiful in May, and all of my 
packed butter went to my regular cus- 
tomers giving the best satisfaction. I 
saved the first lot I packed to use myself, 
and the last of it was as good about 
Christmas time as it was when put up. 

In conclusion, I will say that every 



44 The Cow on the Farm. 

word I have written here is tried and 
true. There is no theorizing, but all has 
been practically applied. I have tried 
not to repeat the same thing over, and 
have said what I had to say in as few 
words as I could to make it plain. Sev- 
eral years ago, I wrote a few articles on 
butter making. They were so well re- 
ceived that after studying the matter 
over I came to the conclusion that these 
remarks might be acceptable to the pub- 
lic. If these lines should find their way 
into many homes, I hope they will be 
well received and made welcome. 

BERTHA BRIDGES. 
Sweet Wine, November 12, 1896. 

LofC. 



Jan =- 12 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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